Remote controlled, two-wheeled toys vehicles (i.e., motorcycles, motorbikes and scooters) are generally known. Among them are self-righting remote controlled motorcycles that maintain stability by having a wider tire in the rear. Although stability is increased, such motorcycles have difficulty staying upright at low speeds unless aided by an on-board gyroscope.
There also exists toy motorcycles having side supports to support the toy motorcycle in the extreme lateral leaning positions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,674 discloses projecting portions formed from synthetic resin material. Such projecting portions are susceptible to constant wear and it is likely that the projecting portions would likely wear out over time.
Various steering mechanisms are also generally known for toy motorcycles. Known steering mechanisms generally include rotational members that transfer torque to the front fork of the toy motorcycle to turn the front fork and front wheel in a desired direction of travel. Thus, known steering mechanisms only operate in basic steering functions.
Consumers today, especially those that play with dynamic toys such as remote controlled motorcycles, desire realistic effects. “Counter-steering,” for example, is a method of steering a real motorcycle at road speed by controllably leaning the motorcycle. The rider initiates a turn by applying a force to the handle bars to momentarily push the handle (and the fork) in a direction opposite the desired turn direction, i.e., away from the desired turn. During this time, the motorcycle destabilizes and begins to fall in the desired turn direction due to the overall weight shifting of the motorcycle caused by the front wheel veering away from its original path of motion. At some point the rider is sufficiently tipped that he can bring the wheel around into the direction of the turn. According to some, this counter-steering method is required to steer virtually all full sized motorcycles at road speed. However, it is difficult to do this with a remotely controlled motorcycle for a variety of reasons.
It would be desirable to have a remote controlled toy vehicle capable of self-righting and staying upright even at low speeds. Furthermore, it would also be desirable to have a steering mechanism capable of simulating counter-steering.